Newspaper Page Text
The
www.MadisonJournalTODAY.com
JUNE 25, 2009
Merged with The Comer News and The Danielsville Monitor, 2006
Vol. 24 No. 25 • Publication No. 1074-987 • Danielsville, Madison County, Georgia 30633 • A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers Inc. • 24 Pages, 2 Sections Plus Supplements
FIRE
An explosion and fire in this building claimed the
lives of a Colbert brother and sister.
Brother, sister die
in Colbert fire
A Colbert brother and sister
died in a fire and explosion
apparently fueled by gun
powder early Sunday morn
ing near Colbert Elementary
School.
Lisa Shubert, 42, of
Colbert School Road and her
brother, Terry (TJ.) Cotton,
39, of Madison Street, were
pronounced dead at the
scene following resuscita
tion efforts, according to
Madison County coroner
Michelle Cleveland. A third
victim, Jerry Scott Payne,
also of Colbert School Road,
was transported by Emory
life flight helicopter to Grady
Memorial Hospital's burn
center with initial reports of
bums to 90 percent of his
body, as well as smoke inha
lation injuries.
Cleveland said firefighters
found Shubert and Cotton
along the back wall of the
small block building. “Their
only exit (at the front) was
blocked by fire,” Cleveland
said.
According to reports.
Colbert Volunteer Fire
Department, along with
Hull and Neese-Sanford fire
departments, responded to
the scene on Colbert School
Road just off Hwy. 72 about
1:30 a.m.
They found Payne outside
the building and Cleveland
said it was unclear whether
he had escaped the entrance
or been blown out by the
force of the explosion.
Payne allegedly said he had
dropped a cigarette near the
entrance, where it evidently
caught some yard sale cloth
ing on fire, which caused a
flash fire and explosion with
the gunpowder.
The building's owner had
formerly used it as a gun
repair shop, according to
Cleveland.
Shubert and Payne report
edly lived in a mobile home
just next door and along
with Cotton, had gone to
the block building to sort
some stored yard sale items
when the fire and explosion
occurred.
ACCIDENT
River diving accident
leaves man paralyzed
Donations sought to
By Margie Richards
margie@mainstreetnews.com
A Danielsville man was
seriously injured during a div
ing accident on the Hudson
River June 17.
According to EMS reports,
Travis Adams, 34, dove off
a dock on Harry Paul Road
into shallow water around 8
p.m., striking his head. EMS
director Dwayne Patton said
EMS received the call at 8:01
p.m. and responded to the
help with recovery
scene along with other emer
gency personnel.
Adams was immobilized
while still in the water to
prevent further injury and an
Emory Life Flight helicop
ter transported him to Grady
Healthcare in Atlanta, Patton
said.
According to family friends,
Adams is paralyzed from the
chest down with only mini
mal nerve response in his
— See ‘Accident’ on 3A
INSIDE
Index:
News — 1-3A
Opinions — 4-5A
Crime — 6A
Obituaries — 8-9A
Churches — 10A
Socials — 10A 12A
Sports— 1-2B
Schools — 3B
Legals— 4-9B
Classifieds — 10-12B
Contact:
Phone: 706-795-2567
Fax: 706-795-2765
Mail: PO. Box 658,
Danielsville, GA, 30633
Web:
MadisonJoumalTODAY.com
8 ,, 0 4879 14144* 0
H|| ROCKINWdOD r>> p
Final soundcheck
for Ga. Theatre
Journal reporter Ben
Munro reflects on
the Athens landmark
destroyed by a fire
Friday morning.
— Page 4A
TAXES
BOA termination hearing set
Firing battle goes
before judge July 8
By Zach Mitcham
zach@mainstreetnews.com
The date has finally been
set to determine whether the
county commissioners can
fire the local board of asses
sors.
Superior Court Judge John
Bailey will hear arguments
at 9:30 a.m., Wednesday,
July 8, in the commission
ers’ meeting room concerning
the BOC's termination of the
board of assessors.
The commissioners voted
in April to dismiss BOA
chairman David Ragland
and assessor board members
Larry Stewart, Samantha
Garland and Jim Escoe.
“We do not relish taking
this action, but rather do so
reluctantly,” the commission
ers stated in their termination
letter to the BOA.
“This decision was reached
only after much deliberation
and anguish that led us to
conclude that there is simply
no alternative and that this
action must be taken for the
good of the county.”
The commissioners say the
assessors have failed to sub
mit tax digests by deadline,
that they failed to secure a
chief appraiser, that there has
been constant turmoil among
BOA members and that a
2008 Department of Revenue
audit revealed numerous
assessment problems.
Meanwhile, BOA members
say the commissioners have
hindered the assessors’ ability
to do their jobs.
(L-R) New chief appraiser Robin Baker, appraiser Stacey Rubio, BOA chairman
David Ragland, Samantha Garland, Larry Stewart and Jim Escoe discussed the
mailing of assessment notices and conservation applications Thursday.
All property owners to
receive assessment notices
But digest could be delayed
By Zach Mitcham
zach@mainstreetnews.com
All Madison County property owners will get assessment
notices in the mail in 2009.
It's a simple thing, but there’s one major string attached. It
could set approval of the tax digest behind schedule, meaning
tax bills may be tardy once again.
Earlier this year, the board of assessors agreed to mail
notices to all property owners — not just those whose values
changed.
BOA member Jim Escoe pushed for the action, saying each
property owner should receive an annual notice in the mail so
he can review his property values.
“I ain’t budging,” said Escoe, when asked to reconsider the
matter Thursday. “It's something that needed to be done every
year for a long time.”
The county board of assessors struggled with the dilemma
this past Thursday. Ultimately, should everyone receive an
assessment notice, which could prolong the appeals process
and set the tax digest behind schedule, or should the BOA
scrap that courtesy and focus more on getting the digest out
on time ?
Assessors
discuss
conservation
exemptions
By Zach Mitcham
zach@mainstreetnews.com
Madison County apprais
er Stacey Rubio placed a
stack of conservation use
applications on the board of
assessors’ table Thursday
night, offering recommen
dations on what should
qualify and what shouldn’t.
While the group discussed
specific tracts, the talk also
touched on the BOA’s over
all perspective on conser
vation exemptions, with
opinions varying on how
stringent the group should
— See ‘Hearing’ on 3A
— See ‘Notices’ on 3A — See ‘Conservation’ on 5A
FINANCES
School budget drops 4.5
percent from last year
BOE hears complaint from one citizen
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews.com
The Madison County school
board passed a $39.15 million
budget Monday, down 4.5 per
cent from last year's spending
plan, after hearing from one
unhappy citizen.
The board of education
(BOE), which approved the
budget 5-0, drew criticism from
county resident Bill Holloway,
who says the school system
isn't spending in proportion to
the county's ability to pay.
Madison County Schools
Superintendent Mitch
McGhee defended the budget,
saying the system must pay for
mandated expenses and has
made “heart-wrenching” cuts
in other areas to prevent a tax
increase.
Holloway, the only citizen
to appear at Monday’s public
hearing, took issue in particular
with salaries, which he said are
too high for Madison County's
demographics. Holloway
noted McGhee’s salary, which
is over $143,000 annually.
Holloway contends that
Madison County Schools
shouldn’t try to compete with
RESA averages for pay since
other school systems in the
RESA benefit from bigger
businesses and larger sales tax
bases.
“It's just a bigger burden
on the taxpayers of Madison
County to pay this kind of
thing than it is compared to the
other counties in this RESA,”
Holloway said.
McGhee countered by say
ing that the sales tax revenue
in other counties to which
Holloway referred can’t
be spent on salaries or any
other general budget expense.
Based on property tax revenue
(which funds the general bud
get), Madison County is better
off than several systems in the
RESA, McGhee said.
Although the system
increased a local supplement
to try to attract more quality
teachers—part of the system’s
strategic plan — McGhee said
Madison County's salaries are
still below the RESA average.
As for his own salary,
McGhee compared his pay to
the superintendent of the eight
school systems most similar
to Madison County. McGhee
said he makes about $8,000
below the average of those
superintendents.
Still, Holloway was dis
pleased with school taxes
increasing at a higher rate over
the last 10 years than other
areas of local government.
McGhee said that’s a result
of a tax shift at the state level.
“I know to many it sounds
like an excuse, but it’s well-
documented that the state has
put the burden more and more
on local systems,” McGhee
said. “And where the state used
to have a much higher per
centage for education, they’ve
pushed that farther and farther
down on the local system.”
The system must also cover
mandated teacher raises based
on the state's salary scale, he
added.
In fact, Madison County
Schools will pay about $1.45
million more this year in costs
tied to personnel, including
step increases in teacher pay
and health insurance cover
age expenses — costs over
which the school system has
no control.
EDUCATION
Mitch McGhee
BOE
extends
McGhee’s
contract
School head earns
'satisfactory ’
approval rating
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews.com
Second-year Madison
County superintendent
Mitch McGhee will lead
the school system into the
next decade.
The county board of
education (BOE) renewed
McGhee's contract
Monday, extending it three
more years to June 30,
2012.
“I feel privileged and
blessed to continue to have
— See ‘McGhee’ on 3A
